Lubricator for elevator guide rails



LUBRICATOR FOR ELEVATOR GUIDE RAILS- Filed March 1.8, 1932 2 sheets-sheet 1 March 27, 1934.

E. J. HILL.

LUBRICATOR FQR ELEVATOR GUIDE RAILS Filed March 18, 1952 ZZzzuarcZ J 1%! Z 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 27, 1934 Mrs F l C Application March 18,

3 Claims.

An object of this invention is to provide a simple and efiicient means for lubricating the guide rails of elevators, particularly of the type known as high speed high rise elevators where the elevators make no stops during a large part of their travel.

Another object is to provide a lubricator of this type which will give substantially a uniform feed of lubricant per unit of length of the guide rail regardless of the rate of travel of the elevator, the number of stops made, etc.

Still another object is the provision of such a means which is simple and easy to manufacture, and to install on elevators now in use.

These and other objects, as will hereinafter appear, are accomplished by this invention, which is fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of an elevator shaft or hatchway showing the car with its light cable in three positions;

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view showing the underside of a car with the lubricator applied thereto;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the oil p p;

- Fig. t is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing a modifled form of the device applied to the compensating ropes; a

Fig. 6 is a partial perspective of the bottom of a car equipped with this device; and

r Fig. 7 is a vertical section through a counterweight equipped with a similar order.

The embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 comprises a hatchway A formed in a building in which a car 13 is adapted to move, being suspended therein by means of steel hoisting ropes 10 passing over suitable sheaves 11 which are driven in any well known manner (not shown) The car is guided by guide rails 12, one or more at each side of the car at the sides of the hatchway, and supported therein in any manner known in this art. 'The car carries guide shoes with gibs 13, which are yieldingly mounted on brackets 14 at the top and bottom of the car which bear on the guide rails, and which take the side pressure when the car sways or is eccentrically loaded. The guide rails are preferably of T-section with the leg of the T facing inwardly to receive the U-shaped guide shoe. Means for properly and evenly supplying these guide rails with lubricant forms the basis of the present invention, and will now be described.

1932, Serial No. 599,712

A light cable or the like 15 by which electric current for various purposes is supplied to the car is suspended at one end to a suitable outlet box 16 near the middle of the hatchway, while the other end is brought down beneath the car and secured thereto thereby forming a loop, as shown in Fig. 2. As the car rises to the position B in which the two ends of the loop are at equal heights one half the weight of the loop 15 is carried by the car. As the car reaches the top position B the cable loop assumes the position 15 in which substantially the entire weight of cable is carried by the car and practically none from the outlet 16.

Thus it will be seen that theweight'of the end of the cable suspended from the car increases substantially in proportion to the rise of the car throughout its travel in the hatchway. The present invention may use any varying Weight of cable by attaching a loop of it, as shown in Fig.2, to a lever 17 which is operatively connected to a lubricant dispensing mechanism C, the lever being normally urged upwardly by a spring l7 which opposes the weight of the end of the loop 15 which is attached thereto.

The lubricating mechanism C comprises a container 18 secured to the channels 19 forming the bottom of the car by means of a block 20, the opposing faces of the block and container being notched to receive the lower flanges of these channels, and the block and container being firmly secured in place by means of a threaded rod 21 and nut 22. The container 18 is adapted to hold a suitable lubricant for this purpose, which is preferably a heavy oil, and which may be supplied to the container through a plug 23 in the top. A connecting rod 24 is connected at its upper end to thelever l7, and at its lower end to a plunger 25 which is slidable in a small pump cylinder 26. Oil is fed to the pump through a suitable inlet valve, such as a ball valve 27 normally held on its seat by means of a spring 28. A similar outlet valve 29 is urged toward its seat by means of a spring 30. The spring is held in place by a screw 31.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the outlet from the pump communicates with pipes 32, 33 which lead to lubricating shoes 34, 35, which are preferably carried by the brackets 14 and are yieldably held against the guide rails. If desired, tubing 36, as shown in Fig. 2, can connect the outlet of this pump to the upper part of the car where similar lubricating shoes are made to bear on the guide rails at'the sides of the car and above it. Adjustable orifices in the pipes may be used to insure a proper distribution of the oil to the several lubricating shoes.

When the car is at the bottom of its travel the parts will assume the position shown in Fig. 3, and as the car rises through the hatchway the added weight on the lever 17 will gradually draw it down, thereby causing the plunger 25 to slowly descend through the pump cylinder, thus causing a slow feed of oil to the lubricating shoes. If desired, the lubricating unit C may be placed at the top of the car and a flexible connection be used to carry the weight of the inner end of the cable loop 15 to the lever 17. It will also be seen how this may be used to operate one of these lubricating units at the top of the car, and another at the bottom of the car. They may be connected together so as to be operated from the same cable loop or from the cable loops, since several cables which will answer this purpose are part of the equipment of most modern elevators. Also any chain, rope, tape, or cable attached to the bottom of the car in this way can be utilized for this purpose so long as the weight of this flexible member carried by the car varies as the, car arises and preferably substantially in proportion to the rise of the car. This is the casewhere this flexible member is of uniform weight per unit of length.

The inner end of the loop is connected to the lever 17 by means of an insulator 37, the cable being bound therearound by means of a cord 38 thereby forming a loop 39 of the cable, the opposite end, of which is connected to a suitable outlet box 40 on the car. It will be observed that various kinds of mechanism may be operated by the lever 17, such as a position indicator which can be combined with electrical selectors of a well known type to show by the position of the lever 17 the position of the car in the hatchway.

In Figs. 5, -6 and 7 are formsof the device which are operated by the weight of compensating ropes, the weight .of

which is many times that of the light cables used in the earlier form. In this case the hatchway D has a car E which is suspended therein by means of hoisting ropes 41 which pass'around sheaves 42 and are connected to a counterweight 43, which is shown in detail in Fig. 7. These hoisting ropes are quite heavy and in the case of high-rise elevators are such a factor in unbalancing the system. that compensating ropes 44 of about the same weight per unit length are employed. These compensating ropes are attached to the bottom of the car, in this instance by means of springs .45, as shown in Fig. 6, and pass down under weight sheaves 46, and are attached at theopposite end to the counterweight 43 likewise with springs 47 interposed as shown in Fig. 7. This arrangement provides for lubrication of the guide rails of the counterweight as well as of the car.

When. the car E is nearthe bottom of the hatchway thecounterweight 43 is near the top, and as the car rises and assumes the positions E, E the counterweight also assumes the corresponding positions 43 43 Thus it will be seen that withthe car at the bottom of the hatchway very little weight of the compensating ropes 44 will be carried on the springs 45, with the result that they will be at their highest positions. Connected to the upper end of one of these springs is a lever l'l of a lubricating device C' similar to that shown in Fig. 3, with like connections for carrying lubricant to the guide shown two modified rails. As the car rises through the hatchway the constantly increasing weight on the springs 45 will draw them down, thereby lowering the lever of the operating device C and causing lubricant to be fed.

In this connection it will be noted that the lubricating device here shown will supply lubricant to the guide rails only on movement of the car in one direction. If desired, however, the operating lever 17 may be supplied with a connecting rod similar to 24, but on the opposite side of the fulcrum, and operating a pump plunger in the opposite direction. Such a pump would connect into the distributing pipes 32, 33 beyond the outlet valve 29.

In Fig. '7 this same oiling mechanism C is carried on the counterweight and has a lever 1'7 which connects through a rod or rope 48 with the upper end of thecompensating cable 44, where it is attached to the counterweight. Thus it will be seen that'I have shown and described several forms of an oiling mechanism which can be used to advantage on elevators, particularly those of the high speed, high rise type where no stops are made through a large part of the travel of the car. l i

The position of the lever 1''! in reality is an indication of the cars position in the hatchway. It can, therefore, readily be seen how the device can be utilized for a mechanical position indicator or in the electrical system as a selector, po-

sition indicator, annunciator reset device, signals, terminal slowdown, etc. Suflicient dashpot action to overcome the inertia in acceleration is inherent in the system. This applies also to the feeding of lubricant at points where the car stops and starts.

It will also be apparent that the hoisting ropes and their attachment to the counterweight may be used in. the same way as the compensating ropes described herein. For a lubricating device to be applied to elevators now in use, a rope, or other flexible member as 15, may be attached at one end to a lubricator C, beneath the car and at the other end to a similar lubricator on the counterweightso that movement of the car and counterweight will cause lubrication of each on a movement in one direction. This direction in which lubrication occurs may be chosen at will bythe lever arrangement, or it can be made to lubricate one or both of these in both directions, as indicated. While oil is preferred as a lubricant, it will be understood that grease may be used, if desired. In that case screw-operated mechanism would be employed and operated by means of a lever acting on a ratchet.

While I have shown and described but a few embodiments of my invention, it is to be -understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, may be made in the construction and arrangements which donot depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as so that a loop of the cable is formed beneath the car, the weight of the end of the loop carried by the-car increasing as thecar rises and vice versa, a spring secured to the element for opposing the pull of the cable, an oil pump carried by the car and adapted to be operated by the movement of the element, and means for conveying oil so pumped. to the guide rails.

2. In an elevator, a body, a lever pivotally carried by the body, a hatchway having guide rails on which the body slides, a flexible member attached at one end tothe free end of the lever and at the other end to a member with respect to which the car moves so that a loop of the flexible member is formed beneath the body, the weight of the end of the loop carried by the lever increasing as the body rises and vice versa, a spring opposing the pull of the flexible member on the free end of the lever, an oil pump carried by the body and adapted to be operated by the movement of the lever, and means for conveying oil from the pump to the guide rails.

3. In an elevator, a body, an element movably carried by the body, a hatchway having guide rails on which the body slides, a flexible member carried at one end by the element and at the other end by a member with respect to which the car moves so that a loop of the member is formed beneath the body, the weight of the end of the loop carried by the element increasing as the body rises and vice Versa, a spring acting on the element to yieldingly carry the Weight of the end. of the loop of the flexible member carried by the element, an oil pump carried by the body having a plunger operably connected to the element so as tobe operable by variations in the weight of the end of the flexible member carried by the element as the body rises and falls, and means for conveying oil from the pump to the guide rails.

EDWARD J. HILL. 

